Human Core
by LyokoGirl89
Summary: He woke up in a field with no memories of who he was, or how he got there. Just a name: Toby. Dr. O'Shay adopts Toby and sends him to a school where he makes new friends. Good things don't last forever, as things suddenly take a turn for the worst. A man from Toby's unknown past has come back to haunt him, as well as others. And atop all that, a great threat looms over the world.
1. Prologue and Chapter 1

**Full summary:** He woke up in a field. That's where it started—in a field, with no memories of who he was, or how he got there. Just a name: Toby. A man by the name of Dr. O'Shay adopts Toby and sends him to a school where he makes new friends. His life is great! But good things don't last forever, as things suddenly take a turn for the worst. A man from Toby's unknown past has come back to haunt him, as well as other terrifying villains who's soul purpose are to make him beg for mercy. And atop all that, an outside threat looms over the whole world. Is the world truly destined for destruction? Or will someone be there to save it?

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**A/N:** Whoa, what? A random, new story I didn't tell you anything about on my profile? :o It's the end of the WORLDDD! No I'm jk, but seriously, sorry about that. ^^; I should've warned ya, huh? Well, this idea popped into my head the night that my best friend was over. I asked her to help me come up with an idea for a new story, but she said 'idk much about Astro Boy, so I can't help you there, sorry.' I just glared at her like 'imma kill you e.e'

Those things aside, this is going to be a novel-like fanfiction, maybe the first of its kind in the Astro Boy archives. I haven't seen one like this in both categories, so... Oh, I've seen a few in multiple other categories, such as Avatar: The Last Airbender, and Code Lyoko (those of which I glance at every now and then). I don't spend too much time dwindling in those.

I came up with some pretty nifty ideas for this story, and I plan on it going far. This is a mix between both the 2009 movie and the 2003 anime series, as you'll notice later on. I also decided on calling Dr. Elefun Dr. O'Shay in this story, simply because the name 'Elefun' just...elephants. XD Also, you'll notice later on that some of the ideas and the characters are going to be well-developed to the sense that you'll believe they're actually FROM the 2009 movie or 2003 series. Also, I thought having evil Dr. Tenma in this story would be way better, because it just fit with the whole plotline, ya know?

I do not own Astro Boy or Tetsuwan Atom, but I wish I did. I would've made so many things in those areas, you can't even BEGIN to think. This story idea is mine and mine alone. No one else is permitted to use this in any way, shape, or form without my permission. You may draw fanart of this if you want, but it's only a suggestion. I don't really mind, just don't steal this.

Anyway, yeah, enough babbling. This is the prologue and chapter 1 combined, since before I had put a prologue in the separate chapter once, and everyone just stopped there, like it wasn't interesting enough to read on. Well, now you HAVE to read on. MUAHAHHA! *cough* ...Sorry.

XD Enjoy!

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**Prologue**

Darkness… That's all I see these days. Just never-ending darkness. I don't know where I am, and I don't know why I feel so cold.

I feel so empty inside. Why? Is it because I can't remember anything? Anything important? Like where I lived, or who I was?

I don't even remember how I _got_ this way! The emptiness was with me for a while, sucking at the insides of my mind like a vacuum to a carpet. Even now, just thinking about it, makes my head feel like it's about to explode—either inward or outward.

I don't even remember what I looked like.

It was all a complete blur. Nothing would come to the surface. It was as if I had no memories at all.

Wait…what's that light? It's so bright…but soothing at the same time. It's the only light I've seen in a long time.

It feels like it's calling to me; calling my name. I feel lifted, light, and carefree. All my past guilt vanished, leaving me with a clean slate.

It definitely is calling to me; a soothing voice that is familiar and on the edges of my peripheral memory, but I just can't seem to remember.

It's getting louder now. My body feels weightless; the light is stronger.

It's calling me—Tobias Tenma—home.

* * *

**Chapter 1**

"Tobias…! Can you hear me, Tobias? Wake up…!"

My mind imploded inward, and I abruptly opened my eyes. A field of grass and flowers met my vision, and I blinked in confusion. Where was I?

Sitting up and looking around, I was completely and utterly alone. There wasn't a soul in sight. _Who was talking to me?_ I wondered, eyes still wandering over the field. I noticed a trough of trees, tightly packed together—almost like a pack of wolves would huddle for warmth.

I looked down, bringing my hands around to look at them. They were covered in dirt and grime, minor cuts and bruises littered around my palm and on the back of my right hand. I glanced past my hands, seeing that my legs were the same way—cuts and bruises covering the majority of my skin. How did I get this way?

I hefted myself forward onto my hands and knees with a soft grunt, careful not to fall flat on my face in the dirt. Even without looking at my face or arms—or whole _body_ for that matter—I knew they were the same way as my hands and legs. I turned my head to the left, seeing a small boulder nearly hidden by the long, tall grass that surrounded it.

I reached out my arm towards the rock, shakily grabbing for a hold on the surface. My arm slipped off the boulder and went crashing straight under my body, causing me to roll onto my back. "Ack!" I grunted as the wind was knocked out of my lungs. I slowly opened my eyes—not realizing that I had closed them—and looked up into the sky.

Big, white, puffy clouds littered the bright blue sky, slowly drifting their way across without a care in the world. The sun above the clouds gently drenched the field I lay in with golden rays, making the grass become golden in the sunlight. I squinted my eyes against the light of the sun, moving my head farther back to see the sky behind me. Just on the horizon of my field of vision, I could see the very tops of the trees that were packed together, their leaves a bright green as they rustled together in the gentle breeze. I smiled, closing my eyes and relishing the feel of the scenery around me. I truly didn't know where I was, but at least it was a very nice place to lie.

Halfway drifting off into unconsciousness, a sudden crunching of grass brought my attention back to the present. Again, my eyes snapped open abruptly. Something was telling me not to sit up and look across from me, but I ignored the feeling and did it anyway. I nearly froze as a man in his late 50's stared back at me, his big brown eyes blinking in confusion.

I didn't know whether to feel terrified or safe. Instead, I just stared back at the man as he stood, mouth agape. He wore a blue jacket over a cream-and-white shirt and khaki slacks. His graying hair only covered the left and right sides of his head, sticking far out from it, gently whipping in the wind. His nose was protruding far from his face, making him look like a mix between a human and an elephant. Good thing he wasn't an elephant, mind you. He was also slightly on the heavy side, but I didn't mind. I didn't know why, but I felt safe around this man.

Finally, the tense silence between us broke, and the man's voice drifted over to me, carried by the wind. "Why, hello there!"

I blinked. His tone of voice was very gentle and surreal, reminding me of a child's grandfather who was trying to tell his grandchild the meaning of life. He did seem about the right age to have grandchildren, but I didn't want to be the one to pry.

"What are you doing out here?" he asked me softly, slowly making his way towards me.

I opened my mouth to tell him I didn't know, but I found that I couldn't speak. I couldn't fathom why my voice wasn't working, but that's just the way it seemed. I closed my mouth and instead shrugged, shaking my head from side to side.

"You don't know?"

I shook my head once more as he closed the distance between us. Kneeling down in front of me, he looked me over with a gleam of sadness in his eyes. "What happened to you, dear boy?" he asked me, his voice a soft whisper as he gently reached his arm forward. I didn't flinch as he felt the cuts on my skin with his fingers. They didn't seem to sting as I thought they would, but that didn't matter at the moment.

After a moment or two of feeling my cuts and examining my bruises, he clicked his tongue betwixt his teeth and looked away for a moment. "I tell you what," he began, bringing his great head back around. "I doubt you want to live out here in this field. So how about coming to Metro City to live with me?"

I blinked, beginning to ponder this. It's true that I have nowhere to go. I also didn't want to live in this field—even though it was a beautiful place. I made a mental note to come back here later. I looked back up at the middle-aged man, smiling gently, nodding softly. He smiled back at me, his smile curled to the left slightly, seeming to bring a happiness along with it. If even possible, I smiled wider, a laugh bubbling at my lips.

He seemed to notice this, because he too began to laugh. "It's my nose, isn't it?" he laughed, his brown eyes dancing as they looked at me.

I shrugged, a little giggle escaping from my mouth. Surely if I could laugh, then maybe if I tried hard enough, I would be able to summon up words. I began to concentrate, closing my eyes.

"What's wrong?" the man asked, seeing my eyes close.

I didn't answer, my concentration heightening to the maximum level. I opened my mouth as well as my eyes, saying the first word that came to mind. "Toby."

"Toby?" he echoed curiously, his eyebrow arched. "Toby…" After a moment, he stood up with a grunt, brushing off his pant legs and looked into the distance.

His sudden realization worried me. Did he know who I was? I opened my mouth to ask, but all that escaped was a little childish squeak. The man turned his head back to me, broken out of his trance. He let off a quiet chuckle with a smile to match. "Sorry for drifting off there!" he apologized, clearing his throat and brushing off his hands. "So you'll come with me?" he asked again.

I nodded with a smile. He grinned happily. "Great!" he exclaimed with a celebratory laugh. "So, can you stand?"

I looked down at my legs, using most of my concentration and energy just to lift my left leg into a bent-knee position. I frowned, realizing as well that the only things I wore were bright red boots, covered with dirt, and a pair of black and green spandex. _Why am I not wearing any clothes?_ I wondered, but pushed the thought aside. Getting to my feet was the top priority, as of the moment. I turned my head once more back towards the boulder that I so effortlessly lost my grip upon, once again gripping the surface and pushing up with my arm. One arm didn't seem to be enough, so I brought my other arm to help. My leg moved underneath me, supporting my other leg as it planted itself on the ground. I pushed with all my strength, my eyes squeezed shut and a scowl on my face. "Hengh!" I grunted as my other foot planted itself on the ground beside the other. Breathing heavily from the effort, I leaned the palm of my hand on the rock, placing the other one on my shoulder as it began to hurt.

The man darted forward—as if on impulse—and wrapped his arm around me, gently helping me forward. "Let's see if you can walk properly first," he said. "If you can't, then I'll carry you."

I nodded, my eyes trained solely on my feet. _Come on, now… Let's move!_ I ordered, bringing one leg forward a step. It was only a small length, but it brought joy to the surface of my features as I let out a laugh and a wide smile. I picked up my other leg, and it moved the same as the other—small but with joy. Soon, I was walking forward with greater distance in my steps, and I felt great.

"That's it!" the man cheered. "You're doing great!"

I looked back at him and he nodded, seeming to understand what I wanted. He dropped his hold from my shoulders, and I was on my own. I tried taking a step forward again, but I wobbled on one leg, my arms lashing out to grab onto something. They caught the fabric of the man's jacket, and I fell diagonally, holding onto his arm tightly.

"You can do it," he told me, standing me back upright and letting go of me once more. "Just try one more time!"

I looked back at him, nodded, and looked back down at my feet. With an 'I-can-do-it' attitude, I lifted my left leg and planted it forward, followed closely by the other, and the other, and the other. Soon, I was walking by myself! I let another laugh of joy through my mouth as I began walking at a speedier pace.

"Toby, be careful!" he called, hurrying after me as I went faster. I didn't realize it, but I was running through the field, my arms out to the sides of me, my hands trailing through the grass. Another laugh bubbled to the surface as I ran around the field, feeling the blades of grass and the petals of the wildflowers. I closed my eyes, the feeling of the wind running through my hair and around my body soothing me, making me feel as if I too were like the clouds—without a care in the world.

Suddenly, the ground dropped below me. I gasped, letting out a cry as I fell. Turning quickly, I grabbed onto a branch jutting out from the wall of dirt. I looked behind and below me, my eyes wide with terror, my heart thumping in my chest. _Oh, God, please no!_ I pleaded, swallowing nervously. _I don't want to die!_

"Toby!" the man called, hurrying up to the edge and letting out a gasp as well. "Oh!" he exclaimed, holding onto his heart. "Hold on, Toby! I'll get you out!"

I looked up to him, my eyes wide and pleading. A hot, stinging sensation bubbled up my face, and I felt something wet trickle down my cheek. I didn't even want to let go of the branch to wonder what it was. I opened my mouth in a wordless cry, panting heavily. As the man raced away to find something to help me, I looked back down. The ground had dropped suddenly, revealing a chasm of complete darkness. I didn't know what it was—all I wanted to know was how to get the heck outta there.

"I'm coming! Hold on!" the man cried again.

I looked up, seeing the elderly face of the man I had only known for a few short minutes as he leaned over the edge of the cliff I was hanging off. I felt intense pain in my fingers as they began to slip off of the side. "Ahh!" I shouted as the branch cracked and one hand fell to my side

I was now only hanging on with one hand.

I looked back up with fear in my eyes as I struggled to get my hand back up onto the edge. The man sensed the imminent danger and leaned off the side to grab something. He returned to my sight with a vine in his hands. "Grab onto this!" he ordered, throwing it down to me.

I wrestled for a better hold on the branch before I tried to reach up to grab onto the vine. I quickly reached for the vine just as the branch began to break off from the wall of dirt, grabbing onto it with one hand as tightly as possible. The branch fell away into the darkness and I gripped the vine with my other hand as the man hefted me back up onto the ground. With a grunt, he pulled me up the rest of the way and I tumbled forward a few feet, landing on my back, the way I was before the man had discovered me in my safe haven.

"Are you alright?" he cried questioningly, his hands on the sides of his head as he knelt in front of me and looked me over. I sat up again and rubbed my head, my fingers running through my hair.

"Ow…" I murmured as I rubbed at my wound.

Once he was satisfied with the way I looked, he said, "I'm Dr. O'Shay." I blinked at him. "I never introduced myself before all this chaos began."

I nodded, still rubbing my head. _Yeah, tell me about it…_ I wanted to say. I looked back towards the edge of the cliff I had fallen over, crawling on my hands and knees to look out over the edge. I had almost fallen into that, whatever it was. I had almost died.

"Phew!" O'Shay sighed, sitting back on his haunches. "You gave me quite the scare, Toby!"

I turned back to him and quickly moved away from the edge. I didn't realize it at first, but I had gotten to my feet and hurried over to the doctor. I looked at my legs with a smile. At least something good came out of all this, right?

"Hey, look at that! You're walking by yourself!" he chuckled, patting my shoulder gently and getting back to his feet. Mirroring my thoughts, he said, "At least something good came out of this mess."

I nodded with a grin that was so wide, I thought my face would fall off. Luckily enough, it didn't. "Let's get going," O'Shay sighed, walking off away from the cliff's edge. I hurried after him, my legs surprisingly feeling like I've been walking on them for all my life—even though I couldn't remember anything up until today.

Dr. O'Shay led me to a yellow hover-car, eventually opening up the driver's door and getting inside. I stopped at the passenger's door, staring at my feet. I was getting inside a car with a strange man that I only just met today. He might not be who he claims to be, but…

"Something wrong, Toby?" he asked, looking at me through the window.

I turned my head around back to the field, watching as the golden-tinted grass swayed, and the white dandelions lost their seeds to the breeze, sending them flying to their new destination—wherever that may be.

_A new destination…_

I didn't know how I'd ended up in this field, and I didn't know where this field was. I had nowhere to go, because I didn't seem to belong anywhere. I looked back to O'Shay in the driver's seat. Why had he come here to this field? And why did he seem to know who I was when I had said my name?

Just thousands of questions were jumbling through my head that I wanted—_needed—_the answers to.

"Toby?" he called softly.

I shook my head and blinked. "Uhhh…" I mumbled.

"We should get going. There's a storm coming, the announcement said."

I looked inside the car for a couple of moments, seeing the news playing on a mini screen on the dashboard, a weather map displayed and a man motioning to a large patch of red and yellow blobs. I turned away again and looked into the sky off into the horizon. Sure enough, I could see the dark clouds settling in and making their way towards this field, flashes of light weaving through the cumulonimbi.

Hesitantly, I turned back around and grabbed the handle, opening the door, and getting in the passenger's seat.

"Alright, off to Metro City we go!" O'Shay sang, starting the car and turning around.

Once we began to climb into the sky, I turned to my window and looked back at the field where I had once lain, watching as the golden grass continued to sway back and forth and as it got farther away.

A silence stretched across the short length between Dr. O'Shay and I as we made our way through the sky. I was still looking out the window, watching as the little puffs of white clouds raced past, the birds zoom by, their chirps barely audible through the glass window, and I watched as the scenery below changed. First off, we began in the field that he had found me in, and then we flew over a vast lake with shimmering waves, the sun's rays bouncing off the surface. Right now, we were flying over a densely packed forest with many shrubs and undergrowth that you could see through the cracks in the trees where the sun was shining. A huge river glistened down below, a large tree growing in the middle of it, its vines stretching far below its grand branches.

I don't know why, but I suddenly became very uncomfortable around this tree. It just seemed ominous the way it seemed to stand there, grandness and all. It just didn't seem…right to me.

O'Shay seemed to have noticed me tense up, for he looked over at me with concern. "What's the matter, Toby?" he asked serenely.

I shrugged, still unable to force my voice out of my mouth. I didn't know why I couldn't talk, but I didn't really let that bother me much. I would eventually figure out how to talk again, just like I had learned how to walk again—for the first time, it seemed.

"Don't worry. We're almost to Metro," he assured me with a smile as he returned his attention back to the wheel at hand.

I looked out the front windshield, seeing bright lights glisten up at me. I winced back, startled, holding my hand to my face.

"Whoops, sorry," Dr. O'Shay apologized. "I forgot to bring the car below the Sunbelt."

_The Sunbelt?_ I wondered, looking at Dr. O'Shay for a better explanation.

He turned to me and chuckled, noticing my confused expression. "The Sunbelt is what we call the point of the sky where the sun always gets in your eyes. It happens at three in the afternoon every day as the sun shines down onto Metro City."

The way he was describing the scenery of the city seemed that all the buildings were made out of super reflective surfaces. I once again glanced out the front windshield, careful not to stare into the Sunbelt, but it wasn't possible anymore. We were below it now, heading into a residential area. As soon as the road split into a bridge towards the great city that arose from nothing, Dr. O'Shay abruptly turned left, away from the city and around the residential area.

I wanted to ask him why we weren't going into Metro City like he had said we were, but I couldn't. Instead, he turned to me, and upon seeing my confused expression again, he chuckled. "We're going to my house on the outskirts of Metro," he explained. "I work at the Ministry of Science smack-dab in the middle of the great city, but we're not going there today."

I nodded slowly in understanding, watching the faces of people blur by, the faces of the children playing in their vast front lawns, and the faces of their parents as they watched their sons and daughters play peacefully. I smiled to myself, wondering if I had ever done that with my parents, but my smile faded as I didn't recall ever having any.

The same hot and sticky wetness escaped from my eye as before, and I wiped at it, holding out my hand to examine it as it wrapped around my finger.

"Why are you crying, Toby?" he asked.

_Crying?_ I echoed in my mind as I examined the drop. _So…this is a tear?_ I wiped the tear on my spandex shorts and shrugged, wiping my eye from which the tear had escaped.

"It's alright," he soothed, patting my shoulder gently. "We'll get you cleaned up and looking better once we get home, okay?"

_Home…_ I looked down at my boots at the foot of the seat I was sitting on. _He talks as if it's already my home as well… I still don't know if I want to stay with Dr. O'Shay. But…_ I looked up at the man once more, a smile on his face as he quietly hummed to himself. _Maybe until I can figure out how and why I was in that field?_

It was more of a question than a statement, being as though I still had many of them. I wanted to know everything about Dr. O'Shay, but more than anything, I wanted to remember my life. I wanted to know _why_ I couldn't remember anything before abruptly waking up when I did. I also wanted to know who had been speaking to me when I was waking up.

My thoughts were cut off short as O'Shay shut off the car and opened his door. "We're here, Toby," he said, getting out. I jolted slightly, quickly opening the door and getting out of the car with ease. I looked up and around me, realizing that we were underground in a parking garage. Why hadn't I noticed the change in light?

The overhead lights hung semi-low, glowing an incandescent, dim blue color that you had to squint at to see it clearly. I turned to look at all the cars parked in the garage, noting to myself that there weren't many—maybe around thirteen cars. Although, when I looked at the parking garage, it wasn't that big, either.

I glanced over at Dr. O'Shay as he took a suitcase out of his trunk and slammed it shut, turning to me. "Alright, kiddo, let's get going. You need a shower and some stitching up!"

I tensed up. I don't know why, but the word 'stitching' seemed to make me terrified. Maybe I was afraid of needles? One wouldn't be too sure unless there was actually a needle close to my skin. He didn't seem to notice me tensing up, for he just walked on by and headed to the elevator in the middle of the garage. I followed after him quickly, careful not to be left behind. I didn't want to dawdle and be left waiting for the elevator to come back down.

Hurrying beside O'Shay and watching as he pressed button number twelve, the doors closed and the elevator quickly rose to the twelfth floor. The doors opened, and I nearly fell back against the back wall of the elevator. It was a speedy elevator, and as I watched O'Shay step out of the elevator like nothing affected him, I could tell that he was probably used to it.

I slowly followed after him, watching warily as he pressed his hand to a locking device on the side of a door. It looked like it was scanning his handprint. After about three seconds, the mechanism beeped and a robotic voice rasped out, "Welcome home, Dr. O'Shay."

I blinked at the voice. It sounded so guttery and robotic that I didn't think anyone should need or want that voice. Was it programmed that way, or was there a robot actually in the control room keeping tabs and saying that? Lost in my train of thought, I didn't notice O'Shay wasn't with me in the hallway anymore. I started, hurrying towards the open door where he disappeared into and peeked inside.

It was a nice apartment. It had a quiet, subtle feel to it, the walls piecing it all together with its faded mahogany color, making it appear more tan than mahogany—although it was still quite red. The furnishings inside the living room persisted of a futon couch and a loveseat, all sitting in front of a fireplace with a holographic monitor over it. A faded honey maple table sat in front of the couches and the fireplace, where a one-flowered vase sat upon the top, along with a few pages to a notebook. Curiosity took me over, and I shuffled over to the pages, peering down at them. It seemed to just be all scribbles and notes, but there were also some really high-tech equations and algorithms on it…

I don't know what happened between then and the future sixty seconds that followed, but to me, it had only felt like a flash of lightning had scorched the sky and blinked out the lights for a millisecond, because that's what seemed.

"Toby?" Dr. O'Shay shambled into the living room, seeing me in front of the papers on the table. He walked over to me slowly, his eyes over my shoulder. "What?" he gasped. "You solved—you—equations—hard!"

I looked back at him with my eyebrow arched. I wanted to ask him why he was freaking out, but as I turned back to the paper, I saw that some writing that wasn't there before I had looked at them was there now. The handwriting was different than the original, and as I looked at my hand, I gasped and dropped the pen that was in my hand like it had stung me. _Did I really solve that?_ I asked myself. I hadn't even known what I had done. It had only seemed like mere milliseconds had passed since I began looking at the notebook papers.

Dr. O'Shay was much more surprised than I was. "You're…you're _amazing!"_ he exclaimed, sitting beside me on the loveseat—which I hadn't noticed I was sitting on until now. "You solved those extremely difficult equations when I couldn't even _look_ at them without getting a headache!"

I looked away, not even beginning to know what to say—not simply because I couldn't, but I just _didn't know._ It was a surprise to me too, and I didn't even know—wasn't even _sure—_how it happened. I guess I just…_knew._

"Well," he continued, clearing his throat and picking up the papers, "let's get you clean and get you some clothes, okay?"

I watched as he took the papers away and began walking upstairs, confusion just taking over me. More and more questions were piling into my head, but I couldn't ask them if I tried. _Unless…_ I turned my attention back to the pen I had so hastily dropped onto the ground. I picked it up and looked at a blank sheet of paper on the table.

_Time to get to work!_

* * *

"Mmm!" I hummed, grabbing Dr. O'Shay's attention. He turned to me from the kitchen counter and rose an eyebrow. I looked down at the paper in my hand, hesitating a moment before I held it out to him.

"What's this?" he asked, more to himself than to me, grabbing the paper from my hand and looking down at it. After a few moments of reading, he looked up with a weary expression. "Jeez, kid, you sure got a lot of questions."

I nodded vigorously, a smile on my face.

"Well, if you can write, how come you can't talk?" he asked, pointing at the paper.

I opened my mouth—but again, the only thing that came out was a squeak. I just snapped my mouth shut in frustration and grabbed the sides of my head, tugging at my hair.

"Hey, hey, calm down," O'Shay tried, placing a hand on my shoulder. "We'll get you to talk soon, okay? Then you can ask _all_ the questions you want."

I put a finger to my chin, thinking. _If I can talk again, then I can ask all the questions I want… Hmmm…_ I hummed to myself as I, again, became lost in thought.

"Well, let's get you cleaned up, Toby," O'Shay said, interrupting my thoughts.

I blinked, watching as he began away towards a hallway and into a room, the door sliding up automatically. I followed after him slowly after a hesitation. Once I peeked inside the door, I saw him press a red button inside the shower, causing the water to come crashing down gently inside the shower, steam already rising from the warmth of it. He turned to me and motioned to the shower. "You just get in there and clean yourself. Use the soap to get rid of the dirt, and use the shampoo to clean your hair," he told me, pointing to each of the things he mentioned. "And then when you're done, you press this red button again, okay?"

I nodded, walking over to the shower and pushing back the curtain, lifting my leg to step inside.

"No, no, no, Toby," O'Shay interrupted me, causing me to step back and look at him. "You got to take _off_ your clothes first. I'll leave so you can, alright?"

Without waiting for an answer, he left the room, the door sliding shut behind him. I looked down at my boots and shorts, again wondering why I was only wearing very little clothing. With an impatient sigh, I sat down on the toilet seat, looking straight down at my boots. After a moment of thinking to myself, I reached for my left boot and tugged on it gently. The leathery fabric of the boot disconnected with my leg and slid off of my skin, revealing a foot underneath. I hadn't known what my feet looked like, because the first time I'd looked at my feet was this morning when I woke up. Once I was finished with examining my foot, I removed the other boot as well.

That only left the spandex.

I really didn't want to take them off, but I guess to be completely clean you had to take _everything_ off, huh? So, once that was done, I stepped into the shower and began cleansing myself. Using the soap as directed, I washed away the dirt and grime from my body and my face, leaving a squeaky-clean feeling as soon as that was finished. I grabbed a hold of the shampoo bottle and squeezed some of the liquid into my palm, slathering it into my hair and scrubbing away the grime.

I felt as if I'd done this a million times before—taking a shower. I couldn't be too sure, because I had only just woken up, from how long a nap, I wasn't certain. I mulled it over a bit before finishing up with my shower, pressing the red button to turn it off. Pulling back the curtain, I grabbed the white towel from the rack and began drying myself off. Forgetting that I was wounded, I accidentally rubbed against a wound on my arm, hissing in pain. I looked down at it, fresh blood beginning to ooze out of the wound. I glanced at the towel to see if I got some blood on it, but luckily there wasn't a spot of red anywhere on it. I quickly grabbed for a roll of toilet paper—which dispensed automatically—and dabbed at my wound, holding it in place while the bleeding stopped.

I blinked, realizing that there was a fresh pair of clothes on the counter. They looked brand new, and I frowned. _He didn't buy me clothes, did he?_ I picked up the shirt in my hand, feeling the fabric. It felt like 100% cotton, and it was very soft to the touch. I also noticed that my spandex shorts were folded as well, sitting next to the brand new clothes. I placed my fingers on the fabric, feeling that it was clean and didn't have that rough feel that dirty clothing had. _He washed my underwear too?_ I turned around, seeing that my boots had been scuffed clean, shining as the bathroom light gleamed off its surface—not a scratch to be found. I smiled despite myself. This doctor was very nice, washing my clothes for me, even though he'd just met me, and I him.

Removing the dirtied paper from my wound—which was dried now—I threw it in the wastebasket, and dried my hair. I began to put on the clothes—spandex first, then the t-shirt, then the jeans, and the jacket. All that remained was a pair of socks, which I quickly pulled on. I turned to the right, noticing a fogged up mirror. I wiped my hand across the surface, revealing my reflection. I gasped to myself, picking up the towel and wiping the remainder of the fog off of the mirror. I blinked at myself in surprise.

_Now_ I remembered what I looked like! I had a round face, teenage features, and big, milky-brown eyes. My hair was dark brown, looking—as of now—like a mess. My memory flashed a picture of spiked hair, which confused me even more. What did that mean? Then I blinked again, looking at my hair closer as I imagined the image of spiked hair onto my own head. It fit _perfectly!_ Not only that, but it seemed to be the normal way that I had my hair.

_Now…how to get it that way?_ I asked myself, bringing my hands to my head and trying out the spikes, but they just flopped back to being a mess. I tapped a finger on my chin. _What do people use to get their hair to stay the way they want it?_ I wondered, looking again at my reflection in the mirror. Then I snapped my fingers. _Hairspray!_

After a split hesitation, I frowned. _I don't like the smell of hairspray._ I blinked. _Where'd that thought come from?_ I stared at myself in the mirror, perplexed as to where that random thought had come from. Maybe it could have been another memory that had surfaced? I didn't know. _But what else is there besides hairspray?_ I asked myself, thinking deeply once more.

I sighed, shrugging to myself and walking over to the door. It slid up by itself, making no noise as it did so. _No wonder I didn't hear Dr. O'Shay when he came in to give me the clothes…_ I peeked around the corner both ways, seeing that both ways were clear of anything but dust and air. I went down the left way, going back the way I had come before I had gotten into the shower, leaving my boots in the bathroom. I recognized the loveseat that I had been sitting on, when I had solved those near to impossible equations that O'Shay had had trouble with, and everything else that I had first seen when I had come into his home. I sat down on the futon, waiting patiently for Dr. O'Shay to come and find me. It wasn't that long before he did.

"Oh, Toby, you're clean!" he greeted, coming into the room from upstairs. "Good, now we have to fix you up."

I tensed again as the word 'stitched' popped into my head. I could've sworn I hated needles, but still, I couldn't be sure. It was like the fear of needles was right in front of my face, but when I reached out to grab it, my hand went through it like it had no density. This time, O'Shay seemed to notice my tensed posture, and he laughed to lighten the mood. "Oh, Toby, don't worry, dear boy. I'm not going to use needles."

It was as if he read my thoughts, the way he said it. I rose an eyebrow at him, and he continued on. "No, we're just going to rub some ointment into your wounds and bandage the worse ones."

I let out a sigh of relief, my body loosening up. Now that the fear of having needles used on me was over, I felt much more safe than I had before. I gasped, suddenly remembering that I forgot to thank him for the clothes. He looked up as I gasped, and I pointed at my clothes, pinching the fabric. I began to mouth the two words 'thank you'.

I certainly didn't expect the words to actually come out of my mouth.

"Thank you," I said, immediately gasping and covering my mouth, my eyes wide.

O'Shay stared at me, mouth agape, blinking with confusion. "Well!" he began, shaking himself out of his trance. "You're welcome, Toby!"

I shook myself out of my trance as well, smiling at him.

"This is a good start. A _great_ start! This time you said _more_ than one word!" he exclaimed, sitting across from me on the loveseat. "Okay, now…" He leaned under the table and grabbed a tube of ointment and a couple of bandages, and held them out to me. "Just get the ones that hurt the most, and I'll get the rest before bed tonight, okay?"

I nodded, taking the tube and the small pieces of paper with the bandages inside. Immediately, I lifted my jacket sleeve and squeezed some of the ointment onto the cut that I had opened on accident in the bathroom, wincing as it began to sting. "Rub it in, Toby," he instructed. "It'll feel better later, trust me." I nodded again, rubbing in the ointment on my arm. Once that was finished, I opened up the bandage's package and slipped it on my arm over the cut. After a moment or two, I looked up and nodded at O'Shay, handing him the bandages and the ointment back.

"That's the only one that hurts?" he asked.

I nodded. "Mmhmm."

"That's good," he said, setting the stuff aside. "Alright, now… Let's work on getting you talking again, shall we?"

I nodded with excitement, my eyes shining with glee.

He chuckled. "Well, _someone's_ excited." I laughed along with him as he began again. "Alrighty! Let's see…" He grabbed a hold of his chin and hummed in thought. "How about you concentrate on certain words that I say; repeat them in your head. Once you get a feel for those words, you can try to say them out loud."

I nodded. _This actually sounds like a good idea,_ I thought, watching as he situated himself better.

He cleared his throat and began. "Science."

_Science._

"Atoms."

_Atoms._

"Nuclear."

_Nuclear._

"Physics."

For a moment, I wondered why he was saying so many scientific words, but I pushed it aside. There were more pressing matters to attend to. _Physics._

"Now those four words again. Science."

_Science._

"Atoms."

_Atoms._

"Nuclear."

"Nu…" I blinked open my eyes, bringing my fingers to my mouth as I realized that I had spoken one syllable of the word.

O'Shay's eyes sparkled as he heard this, but continued, hoping to have me progress more. "Physics."

"Fffeh…"

"Science!"

"Ssss… Scien…ssss…"

"Atoms!"

"Aaah…tomsss…"

"Nuclear!"

"Nucleeear!"

"Physics!"

"Physics!"

"Yes!" he exclaimed, pumping his fist in the air. "Say anything else that comes to mind, Toby!"

"Toby…" I murmured. "M-my…n-name is Toby!"

"Excellent!" he laughed, clapping his hands together with a grand smile. "First-rate, dear boy! Excellent job!"

I smiled. "My name is Toby."

"Yes, go on!" he pushed, leaning towards me.

"I was…found in a field."

He nodded.

Then I frowned, a memory surging to the surface. "Tenma."

He flinched back as if he'd been shot. "What?"

I looked at him, my eyebrows pulled together. "My name is Toby Tenma."

"…Yes," he sighed.

My memory surged back to those playing children in their front lawns with their parents, and I spoke again. "Where are my parents?"

He sighed again, looking away for a moment. "Toby…you're an orphan."

My mouth stood agape. "So you _did_ know who I was!" I exclaimed, shooting up from my seat. "I _knew_ it! Knew it, knew it, _knew it!"_

"Toby, your parents died in…in a car accident," he said softly, his eyes sincere. "A-after they died, you were put in a foster home. I was in that field today, because I was looking for you."

"Why was I there?" I asked.

"You had run away from the orphanage." He looked away once more, sadness rimmed within his eyes. "But that's all in the past now. Besides, it's time for bed. You can ask your questions tomorrow."

"But—"

"Now, now, Toby," Dr. O'Shay calmed. "It's almost eight o'clock. You were in the shower for quite some time, so I had gotten you some clothes." He motioned towards what I was wearing.

"Well…th-thank you for that," I said with a smile.

"You're welcome," he replied warmly, standing up and placing a hand on my shoulder. "Now come on, it's time for bed. I'll show you your room."

"My room?" I asked. "I get my own room?"

He nodded, leading me upstairs. "You sure do! It's time I used up this spare room I had."

Once we reached the room, I looked inside. The walls were a different color from the rest of the house, being a bright, baby blue color. The carpeting was white, and it had a fluffy texture to it. The twin-sized bed was covered in a plain dark blue bedspread, the pillow both white and blue. Various other furnishings were littered around the room: a white dresser, a bright blue and white bedside table, a furnished oak wood desk in the corner of the room, which atop it sat a lamp that was on, dimly lighting up the room. There were also another two doors that led to both a closet and a spare bathroom.

I looked back at O'Shay with a smile and a laugh, hurrying towards the bed—_my_ bed—and jumping on it, pulling the covers back and hopping inside.

"Goodnight, Toby," he murmured, turning off the desk lamp and leaving the room, the door sliding shut behind him.

I smiled to myself, burying my head farther into my pillow as I let out a sigh. Today had been very eventful. I discovered who I really was, and I had so many more questions I needed answered—although half of them had already been answered, as O'Shay had told me about my parentage and how I'd come to be in that field.

But…that still didn't explain why I had no memory of anything before today.

I sighed, shutting down my mind, and giving it a rest. Dr. O'Shay was right. It was time for some shuteye. I closed my eyes and slowly drifted off.

* * *

**A/N:** Okay, a few things I want to mention before you all bombard me with questions. Toby is a ROBOT. Yes, I know that's hard to believe, the way I described how he had cuts and bruises, with the blood and the heart thumping and the...yeah. Well, lemme tell you, the human body can undergo so many changes in real life. You can literally have everything artificial except for the brain without becoming fully robotic. So he's technically a cyborg, you'll learn more on that later.

Toby is not really an orphan. That's just a cover-up story to blind him from his true parentage-insane Dr. Tenma. He was in the field because Tenma left him far, far away from Metro City so no one would find him. You'll learn more on that later.

Anything else I failed to answer here, feel free to ask in your reviews. I'll answer in the next chapter. I don't know when it'll be up, but I have a good outline for it, so you can expect it maybe next week or so. Remember, I also have a job now. I get home at 6 pm every day. I have Wednesdays and Sundays off. I'm going to use that time to my advantage, so ^^ Yuurp.

I hope you liked this! :D I feel really accomplished with the way I described everything. You can thank Dean Koontz as my inspirator, because his detail in his stories is like...so intense, it just made me want to make this novel-like. So...anyway yeah! ^^ Until next time! *waves*


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N:** *falls over* Omigosh guys, I am soooo sorry! I didn't mean for two weeks to go by without an update, I really didn't mean it! DX Anyway, here it is now! Don't kill me! *cowers in corner with kitten in front of her face*

Kitten: Mew!

That's so cute X3 XD Anyways, yeah, I think this might be the same long as the other chapter, maybe a little bit shorter. I keep having these visions of how my story is going to turn out. ^^ They're so awesomeeee! Yeah, so, me and my best friend Star are doing a collab comic of this story! Can you believe it? We're coloring the first page now too! And we're doing the cover page as a collab as well. ^^ Watch us both as Astro-xXx-Boy and Starwarrior4ever on deviantART! :D

And without further ado... Chapter 2!

* * *

**Chapter 2 **

_"Toby… Toby…!"_

_A voice. A familiar voice—it was calling for me. I turned my head around, trying to look for who was calling for me, but all I saw was darkness. "Where are you?!"_ _I called out. A sudden growling noise made me turn my head to see two glowing red eyes. The creature bearing the demonic eyes lunged at me, making me scream in terror. I dodged, but suddenly I wasn't in the darkness anymore, and the strange creature was nowhere to be found._

_My vision was almost completely blurry, but I could still make out shapes and colors. I was lying on a cold, metal surface in the middle of a room with creamy-white walls. The only light that was on was shining directly down at me—but I wasn't looking straight at it, anyway._

_A blurry white-and-brown shape loomed over me, blocking out some of the overhead light from shining down in my face. My vision was still blurry, but I could see that he was a young man, maybe in his late 20's or early 30's—somewhere around there. He was smiling down at me, a crazed gleam in his eyes._

_I tried sitting up, but found that I couldn't. I turned my head and saw that both of my wrists and legs were bound to the table with cuffs made of blue aluminum—a rare mineral only found on Uranus, lightning chains holding them there. "What is the meaning of this? Let me go!"_

_The man laughed again, coming over with a needle in his hand, flicking the glass syringe in which a glowing blue liquid was contained. I struggled against my bonds as he continued to chatter—more to himself than me. "This won't hurt a bit. Nope! Not _one_ bit. It might sting, but—oh, who am I kidding?"_

_And with that he shoved the needle under my skin._

_I screamed. The liquid coursed through my veins with a pain so intense, I thought my skin was burning, bubbling, and ceasing to exist. The strange blue liquid caused my body to glow where it was moving throughout my veins._

_My vision was slowly fading to black as I heard the same voice call once more through darkness._

_"Come to me, Tobias… Come to me…my son."_

"GYAAAAAAAAAAAH!"

I whipped up in bed with a gasp, clutching my heaving chest and breathing heavily from my mouth. My heart was beating a mile a minute as I rapidly looked around the room. The familiar baby blue walls greeted my vision, cast in a golden hue as the sun filtered through the blue curtains. I swallowed nervously, falling back onto my pillow and holding onto the sides of my head. I knew that that nightmare had in fact been a memory, but it was hurting my brain just even thinking about it. When I thought of the strange blue liquid that the man had put in my body, my arms began to tingle. I shook myself and rubbed my arm. It made my skin crawl.

I sat up again—slower this time—and glanced at the clock on the nightstand. It was about quarter to ten in the morning. I brought my head towards the door, silently wondering what Dr. O'Shay was doing at this hour. The dream was beginning to worry me, and I thought that maybe he would know something about it—or at least try to fathom it. I brought my legs around, removing the covers from my body and got up. "Whoa…" I cautioned myself as I wobbled slightly on my feet.

As I made my way for the door, I looked down and saw that I was still wearing the same clothes as I had when I got out of the shower. I didn't fall asleep with pajamas on, but that was to be expected. I didn't have any, after all. I pressed the button on the side of the door, causing the door to slide up as silently as the bathroom door had yesterday. I stepped out into the hallway and peeked around the corner.

The door at the end of the hallway sat ajar, and as I recalled back to last night, I remembered that when I had come upstairs, that door had been closed shut. My curiosity overwhelmed me once again and I silently crept towards the room. Careful not to make a sound—if this room were to be forbidden—I slowly began to look around the edge of the doorway, looking inside the room. It appeared to be another bedroom, and as I placed my hand on the doorframe and looked inside more, I could picture Dr O'Shay sleeping in that neatly made bed beside the window.

Then I turned around and looked towards the stairs that led down to the living room, suddenly wondering where he was. He did mention yesterday as we were making our way here that he worked at the Ministry of Science—whatever that may be—in the very middle of Metro City. I still wanted to visit the city, and maybe with enough persuasion, Dr. O'Shay might be tempted enough to take me there.

Slowly and surely, I made my way towards the top of the stairs, peeking out over the hang to the right of me, seeing that most of the lights were on in both the living room and another room that I hadn't seen before—the kitchen. I could tell it was that room, because I could just make out the fridge door from where I stood. I hurriedly went down the stairs, taking the right that would take me to the kitchen. My stomach grumbled in desperation as I entered the kitchen, but I was too shy to even take a glance in the fridge for food. Instead, I marveled at the amazing scenery that befell me.

The fridge was stainless steel with a mini TV built right into the door, although it wasn't on. The cupboards over the kitchen sink and along the wall above the fridge and oven were made of the same type of oak wood that made up the desk in my room. The oven was a dark black color, with white trim along the edges. I could already smell the aroma of the bread baking in the oven—a hint of cinnamon wafting through the air. I peeked inside the oven, watching as the light near the back waned on and off, on and off as the bread was baking. I smiled and squatted down in front of it, perplexed by the light. It was a bright—_very_ bright—blue color, highlighting the bread in the same color as it came on, and then went off. I got up and turned towards the sink, seeing a small mirror over the top of it. I looked at my reflection, laughing at the way my hair sat atop my head. It was a complete mess, tufts of dark brown hair sticking out in every direction. I had forgotten to comb through my hair to make it better looking after I had gotten out of the shower.

Thinking about my shower last night also reminded me to ask about something that had the same use as hairspray, but wasn't hairspray. I knew it was a liquid of some kind—it was on the tip of my tongue—but I just _couldn't_ remember the name of it. I stuck my hands under the faucet, waiting a full second before the water came crashing into my hands. I pulled my hands out of the water—which shut off—and whipped them in the sink, sending some stray droplets flying. I looked again into the mirror and ran my wet fingers through my hair, flattening my spiky hairdo that didn't quite fit.

Wiping the remaining water off of my hands with the towel next to the mirror, I turned and began heading into the living room. This time, Dr. O'Shay was sitting upon the futon, looking down at two notebook papers in his hands. I recognized them as the ones that I had so carelessly written answers on the day before. I glanced up, seeing that the news was playing on the holographic monitor above the fireplace, the news-people mulling over the weather for the next week and a half. I glanced at O'Shay once more as he muttered to himself, rubbing his chin and holding the two papers with his left hand. I remembered my earlier nightmare and upon doing so, it sent a shiver down my spine, causing me to shudder at random. Maybe he would know something about the strange man in my nightmare? I just had to know.

"Dr. O'Shay?" I began.

He didn't look up from his paper. "Oh, Toby. Good morning."

"I had…a strange dream last night."

"Mmhmm…"

"It makes me wonder…if…" I broke off, not completely sure how to tell him about it. He didn't seem to be listening to me either. I glanced back up at the holographic screen, the words 'Space' and 'Meteor' catching my eye. I realized that the sound wasn't even turned on. O'Shay must've turned it down to completely concentrate on his task at hand. Without asking, I grabbed the remote from off the table and clicked the volume button. The sound began off at a low level, but slowly turned up to normal.

"…Reports of a meteorite nearly the size of England is slowly making its way to Earth," the announcer said, a picture of said meteor next to his head. "Rest assured, the meteorite will thankfully pass Earth with no damage to any of our home planet's inhabitants," he continued, smiling. "Which is a great relief to many in the world. What say you, Bill?"

The screen switched over to an older looking gentleman with graying hair and blue-rimmed glasses, his green eyes full of wisdom. "That _is _a great relief, Martin, I'll give you that. In other news…"

I stopped listening after that, my thoughts running wild once more. _A meteor, huh? That's from space, right? Well, I guess it's a _really_ good thing it isn't hitting Earth then._

I glanced over at Dr. O'Shay, seeing that he was too busy with looking at the papers and mumbling to himself that he didn't have any idea what was going on around him. I looked back at the hologram TV, but saw that it was a news report on some boring, old person who saved a kitten in a tree.

"It's completely impossible…"

I turned back to O'Shay, blinking. Had he been talking to me, or himself? It was most likely himself, because he wasn't looking up at me. "What's impossible?"

"These equations are too difficult to be solved by a mere child!" he exclaimed, completely ignoring me. "The last person I saw who had solved something like this…" He broke off and glanced up at me. "Oh, when'd you get here?"

I gave him a look and just sighed. "What were you saying now?"

"Oh, nothing, nothing," he told me, folding the papers in half and stuffing them in the inside pocket on his vest. "I was just thinking maybe we could give you an education."

"You mean make me go to school?" I asked, completely surprised.

"Yes, that's what I mean." He cleared his throat, finally glancing at the TV. "When'd that turn on?"

I face-palmed, but didn't let it bother me. Instead, I changed the topic back to the education that he mentioned. "What school am I going to?"

He turned back to me and shrugged. "I don't know yet, but the highest possibility would have to be Metro High."

"Is that in Metro City?" I asked, my eyes sparkling.

He nodded. "Yes, it is!"

I pumped my fists in the air in front of me, my eyes shining with excitement. I couldn't believe it! I was finally getting to go to Metro City—even though this was my first day here. "When will I get to go?" I asked.

"Hold on, Toby," he chuckled, holding out his hand for me to calm down. "We still don't even know if for sure you're going or not."

My posture slackened, and a gleam of sadness entered my eyes. "But you said—"

"I am well aware of what I said," he told me, standing up and wiping off his hands together. "Now if you'll excuse me, dear boy, I have some bread to take out of the oven."

I followed his movements with my eyes as he walked away from me and into the kitchen, heading towards the oven near the back wall. I sighed and looked down at my sock-covered feet. _I sure hope I get to go to Metro High…_ I thought to myself, sitting down on the loveseat with my left hand placed on the side of my face. _You learn things at school, which is why it's called an education. I just want to know more about this world—the history of it, I mean._

"Ouch!"

I turned my head around towards the kitchen as O'Shay's voice drifted towards me, a _clash_ heard in the room behind the wall. He must've burnt his hand on the pan with which the bread sat. I lifted my nose into the air and took a long breath in, relishing in the scent of the cinnamon that was baking inside the bread. My stomach growled, making me unconsciously stand up and make my way into the kitchen. Once I entered the room, Dr. O'Shay was holding his hand underneath the sink, washing away whatever that was on his hand.

_Water… Liquid…_

I blinked, remembering another question that I'd had that I couldn't answer. "Doctor?"

"Yes?" he asked without turning.

"What's like hairspray, but liquid?"

He pulled his hands from the water and wiped them gently on the towel, careful not to rub any more access skin off that he might've burned. O'Shay turned his head around to me. "Liquid hairspray?"

"Yeah, that you put in your hair, but it doesn't have the same smell or texture as hairspray, and doesn't make your hair feel so brittle," I told him, miming what I was saying.

He watched my hands, and as I finished the story, he put a finger into the air with a smile. "Oh! You're talking about hair _gel."_

"Gel! _That's_ it!" I exclaimed, running my fingers through my hair with a relief that I couldn't just express into words. "You had _no_ idea how hard it was to remember that."

"Why are you asking about gel?" he wondered aloud, placing the towel back on its rack.

"Well, I had a glimpse of a memory, and there was this picture of spiked hair," I explained. "I imagined it on my head, and it fit perfectly."

"Oh…!" Dr. O'Shay smiled at me. "I do recall you having spiked hair yesterday before your shower." He pointed to his head. "One on top, and one to the side."

"That's the picture I saw!" I laughed. "Do you have any gel by any chance, Doctor?"

He hummed to himself, thrumming his fingers on his chin, his other hand on his hip. "Hmmm… I can't say for sure that I do, but I can go check! In the meantime…" Dr. O'Shay turned and pointed at the bread. "Help yourself, Toby. The plates are in the cupboard over the oven."

I nodded and hungrily eyed the bread, moving towards it as he left the kitchen. There was a knife sitting next to the pan with the bread inside, and I took it into my hand and cut a reasonably sized piece—which you could say was normally sized. I turned and walked over to the oven, able to feel the heat still rising, but not as hot as it had been before while it was cooking the bread. I reached over it and opened the cupboard, taking out a small paper plate and returned to the piece of bread that I had cut. As I placed the food on the plate, I noticed that it also had raisins inside it. I smiled. Cinnamon and raisins makes raisin bread!

I turned towards the fridge, suddenly realizing that plain bread wasn't a meal. Hesitantly, I picked the knife back up and cut another piece, placing it on my plate and began towards the food's shelter. I opened the bottom door, peering inside. Many different varieties of food lay inside, just waiting to be eaten—but I didn't grab any of them. I reached inside after I found the butter and its opposite—peanut butter—and closed the door, returning to my half-made sandwich. I used the same knife that I had used to cut the bread and put the two different spreads on each side, closing the sandwich together and smiling to myself.

I had made my own breakfast!

I felt so accomplished as I rinsed off the knife in the sink, placing it back next to the pan after drying it. I grabbed the plate and turned around, heading for the open doorway with no door and headed out towards the living room, which housed a dining table next to the kitchen wall that I had forgotten to mention. I pulled the chair nearest the front door and sat down, immediately taking a bite of the peanut butter and butter sandwich. It was quite good!

As soon as I was halfway into my sandwich, O'Shay appeared—more like materialized—next to me. I looked up, seeing a bottle in his hands. He smiled and placed it on the table next to my plate. "I found this in the upstairs bathroom in my room," he explained as I picked it up and examined the label. "Can't imagine what I needed _that_ for, but nonetheless, there it is!"

I swallowed my sandwich and smiled at O'Shay. "Thank you!"

"No problem," he answered, watching as I took another bite. "Like the bread, don't ya?"

I nodded, chewing the cinnamon and raisin bread, enjoying the taste that it brought to my taste buds.

"I usually prefer eggs and bacon in the mornings, but sandwiches work too!" he chuckled, smiling and patting my shoulder as I finished off the last of it. He picked up the paper plate in his hands and made off with it towards the kitchen. "I'll take care of this for you."

I swallowed again. "Thank you—again!" With a spring in my step, I hurried towards the first floor bathroom where I had taken my shower yesterday. Pressing the button and opening the door, I stepped inside and faced the mirror—the lights coming on automatically. _Okay…now how do I do this the _right_ way?_ I asked myself, staring down at the bottle of gel in my hand. After a moment or two, I opened the top and squeezed some of it out.

I closed my eyes, picturing the spikes that my memories had concocted yesterday, picturing it onto my own head. I brought my hands up to my hair and began to work. I didn't even realize it, but my eyes were closed the entire time, just doing it from memory while feeling my thousands of little hair strands on my head. Once I felt my hands stop moving, I slowly opened my eyes. I gasped, smiling. It was perfect; one spike on top, and one off to the side.

"I did it!" I whispered, laughing to myself. I accidentally smacked my palms to my face, and with a slight shout of surprise, I realized too late that my hands still had gel on them. Grumbling to myself, I rinsed off my hands and wiped my face with the towel, getting rid of the sticky hair gel. Looking at myself in the mirror again, I had to admit that the gel _did_ do a pretty good job.

"Hello!"

I blinked. Was that Dr. O'Shay's voice? How could I hear it through the door _that_ clearly? I ignored my questions, and stuck my head out the opened door—previously opened prior to the peeking. I watched as he walked towards the living room, a small wireless device in his hand, displaying a tiny holographic man over a bright blue faceplate. _Who is he talking to?_ I wondered, arching my brow and listening in. Now, some would say this is eavesdropping. What _I_ say is that this is merely paying extra attention—mischievous, I know.

"Hello, Mr. O'Shay," the man on the hologram greeted, a tiny smile on his face.

"Greetings, Mr. Haverston," O'Shay answered. "It's been quite a while since we've spoken."

"Yes, it has," he agreed. "Far too long…" He cleared his throat, and positioned himself better on his feet, his hands behind his back. "So what brings us together on phone?"

"Well, I recently adopted a boy, and I was wondering if he could attend your fine school?" Dr. O'Shay asked, his eyebrow arched.

I gasped quietly. This Mr. Haverston guy _must_ be the principal of Metro High! And Dr. O'Shay was _finally_ calling it in! I could barely contain my excitement as the conversation continued on in the next room over.

"Why, of course!" Mr. Haverston chuckled. "He can surely attend Metro High! But of course, before he enters…"

"I know, I know. He has to pass an entry exam," Dr. O'Shay interrupted. "I assure you, he is able to do that with flying colors."

_Is he talking about how I answered those equations?_ I wondered, stepping out of the bathroom and peeking around the corner of the hallway.

"Well the only way to find out is for him to actually take that test," Mr. Haverston replied. "I'll have Diana set up a date for when he could do that… Saturday, perhaps?"

"Saturday sounds _lovely!_ I'll tell him right now!" O'Shay exclaimed, excitement in his tone.

I gasped, immediately running back to the bathroom to have him believe that I hadn't heard a single word of it. As if on cue, I heard his voice call down the hallway and echo through the open door to the bathroom.

"Toby! Could you come here a moment?" he called.

Again, acting as if I were never eavesdropping, I slowly made my way towards the living room, brushing off fake dirt from my jacket. Now, if you think that wasn't acting, then you got another think coming. "Yes?" I asked, peeking my head from the corner of the hall. O'Shay waved me over and I—albeit excitedly—hurried over to him and sat next to him on the futon. "What is it?"

His smile betrayed his emotion, and I couldn't help but smile back—because I had heard the news before he had even told me. "You're going to school!" he exclaimed with a laugh.

A laugh escaped from my vocal cords, my excitement bubbling head over heels. "When do I go?" I asked, shaking my hands in front of me like an excited little kid who just found out he gets free Christmas presents.

He smiled at me. "Well, first you have to take an entrance exam on Saturday, and I believe that if you pass the exam, you would start on Monday." He shrugged. "You'll pass; I know it!"

I smiled. Finally! I was going to go to Metro City! I blinked then, realizing that today was Friday. "So I take it tomorrow?" I asked, my eyebrow arched.

He nodded. "Yup! And you'll definitely be able to get in."

I frowned, looking up into his eyes. "What makes you so sure that I'll pass? Is it because of those equations I solved by accident?"

He hesitated but nodded. "Like I said, only two people in this world could have answered those correctly."

"Who?"

He sighed. "Well, the first person would be you, but the second…" He trailed off, looking away. I rose an eyebrow at him, dozens of questions blazing through my mind. He was hiding something, and I had the intention to find out. I opened my mouth to ask the dozen questions I had in mind, but he walked away from me and towards the door, grabbing his overcoat and slipping on his shoes. "Since you're going to school soon, you'll need more clothes than just those," he said instead, motioning his head towards my clothes. As I looked down at them, he added, "Also, some school supplies as well."

As soon as I looked up and our eyes met, I could tell that he knew that I knew he was hiding something from me.

"Okay! Get your boots on… Oh! You need new shoes, too…" he mumbled, pressing the button on the side of the door and walking out into the hallway.

I looked around for a moment before realizing that O'Shay had moved the boots, and they were by the door. I smiled and slipped them on my feet, pulling my pant legs over them, and hurrying out after the doctor. Once we were down the bumpy elevator—that's at least what I still thought of it—we hurried down into the parking garage, hopped into the hover car, and we were on our way! I turned to O'Shay. "So where are we going to get clothes and stuff?"

He shrugged. "I thought maybe Metro City—"

"No way!" I exclaimed, my excitement spreading out once more. "No freaking way!"

"Yes way," he chuckled. "That's where the mall is, is it not?"

I could tell that was a rhetorical question, so I didn't answer. Instead, I just let out little squeals of excitement. I was _finally_ going to Metro City! Not only that, but I was also going to _school_ tomorrow! I was so excited, I could hardly contain it.

We drove past those houses that I had seen those children playing with their parents—but they weren't there today, most of them blurring past at speeds of 55 mph. And finally—the moment I've been waiting for—we arrived at the bridge that connected the residential area to the great Metro City! Dr. O'Shay took a left, turning up and onto the tube bridge, dozens of other cars buzzing by as they left the city. I looked out the window, my hands plastered to the glass, watching boats under the bridge and on top of the water in the river lazily float on by, only a couple speedboats racing past. I turned back to O'Shay with the happiest smile that I have ever had on my face, my eyes sparkling. This was so awesome!

Large, tall buildings loomed over us in the hover car, my eyes following the tube bridges through the city. There was both a road near the base of the city, and dozens of highway tubes up above for fast travel. It _was_ a huge city—I'll tell you that. "Wow…!" I breathed, at a loss for words as I looked up and through the windshield.

"Brilliant, isn't it?" O'Shay asked, glancing at me out of the corner of his eye while driving. "I remember the first time I came here. I was about your age."

"What did _you_ do?"

He chuckled to himself. "Well, I had almost your same reaction, although back in the day, there wasn't much technology as now." He shrugged. "I guess you know what I mean."

I nodded, watching the faces of hundreds of Metro City citizens blaze past on our way to the mall. I assumed that it was probably called Metro City Mall—_but_ I could be wrong. Finally, after what only seemed to be a couple minutes—which in prospect was most likely the amount of time that had passed—we pulled into the huge—and I mean _huge!—_parking lot of the mall. I looked up at the sign as we passed by. It had almost a hundred different shops listed on the sign, and I wondered how they could fit all of them up there while people would still be able to read it—of course, I may be exaggerating.

"Welcome to the Metropolitan S. Mall!" Dr. O'Shay exclaimed as he searched through the parking aisles to look for a spot.

Okay, so maybe my assumption was wrong.

We finally parked and got out of the hover car. I looked up at the top of the building; the large neon red letters that spelt out the name of the mall bright and lit. As we began walking towards the entrance, I turned my head to O'Shay. "What does the 'S.' stand for?"

"It stands for 'South'," he explained. "There are two malls here in Metro City, and both of them are exactly the same large—only the Metropolitan _North_ Mall's arrangement is quite different."

I nodded in understanding. If there were two malls of this exact size here in the city…well, you can understand how huge this city is, then.

We slowly made our way through the grand parking lot and stepped into the building, the doors opening automatically for us as we stepped in front of them. The mall was teeming with hundreds—if not _thousands—_of people, all frantically trying to get whatever they wanted to get. I looked around, noticing that the shops that had all been on the sign—they were right here inside, as advertised. "So, where are we going first?"

O'Shay began forward and I followed. "Well, first, I think we should go to New Navy."

"New Navy?" I echoed curiously.

"It's a brand new clothing company, maybe only twenty years old. It was founded after the old company 'Old Navy' went out of business," he explained.

_Twenty years? And that's not old?_ I snickered to myself, but kept it low and under my breath.

O'Shay continued on. "It has the most amazing selection of clothing for young teens—like you. This is also where I got your current clothing." He motioned to what I was wearing, and I looked down with a smile. "Ah! Here we are! New Navy!"

I looked back up, noticing a huge shop that took up one whole wall of the entrance lobby, the neon blue letters above the doors spelling out the name of the store. We walked inside the doors—which were open—and I glanced at the clothes. O'Shay had been exactly right; there was definitely a great selection of clothing…and only _for_ teens. I didn't see any little kid clothing, or any adult clothing anywhere. It was just for teenagers.

"Where do we start?" I mumbled under my breath.

"Well, let's start over here!" O'Shay exclaimed, obviously having heard me mutter. He took off in the direction of the teenage boy section. I couldn't help but groan at the prospect of being dragged around. I wanted to look for myself.

He stopped at a rack of t-shirts and jackets, picking one off the rack—which just so happened to pop out of the wall once we approached. "Does this look good, Toby?" he asked, holding it out to me.

I grabbed the hanger in my hand and held the shirt up in front of me, tapping my chin. "Hmm…" It was a light blue t-shirt with a white splatter design on the front. I turned it around, seeing the same white splatter that was on the front on the back as well. It was an awesome shirt, I had to admit. And I _did_ like the clothes that O'Shay had bought for me yesterday, so the guy had good taste, at least. "I like it!" I said, smiling.

"Splendid!" he exclaimed with a chuckle, sifting through more t-shirts. "We'll have your new wardrobe in no time!"

I blinked. "You're…?" He turned to me, his eyebrow raised. "You're not buying me a whole closet's worth of clothes, are you?" I asked, my voice slightly off kilter.

"Well, we can't just have you with two t-shirts, one pair of jeans and socks, can we?" he asked, giving me a serious look.

I averted my gaze and stared at my boots. "I-I guess not…"

"Well, let's get back to work!" he laughed.

I looked up. _He's buying me a whole closet's worth!_ I thought, looking at the t-shirt I had in my hand. _We're going to need more hands, then…_

"And how about this shirt?" he asked, holding it to me.

I grabbed it and held it up once more—as I had done the other. It was a musky green color, and it had two white stripes on both sleeves, with a white 'x' in the middle. I winced at the shirt. It looked too…gothic.

"Don't like it?" he asked, noticing my expression. I gave it back to him.

"Not really," I laughed.

"That's alright! We'll keep looking. Here, I have an idea." He placed a hand on my shoulder. "Why don't you look through these t-shirts while I look for some pants and shoes for you? There's another whole row of t-shirts to the left, and it's larger than this one, okay?"

I nodded, smiling. "Okay!"

"That's my boy," he chuckled, heading off in the direction of the boy's pants. My eyes trailed after him, remembering what he had said on the phone earlier.

_"So what brings us together on phone?"_

_"Well, I recently adopted a boy, and I was wondering if he could attend your fine school?"_

I swallowed, watching him as he sifted through the pants. "He…adopted me?" I breathed to myself. _So…he's like my father now?_ I let myself have a moment to let it all sink in, and then I smiled. I had a father now, since my real parents had died. I frowned. _I wish I had a memory of them, at least._

I shook my head sadly, turning around and looking through the t-shirts once more. My earlier perception had been incorrect—there were long-sleeved shirts in this rack, and most likely on the other one as well. It went on like this for a couple hours, just picking out shirts, pants, jackets, and the occasional shoe. Soon, we were finished with clothes shopping. We went up to the lady at the front desk of the shop and abandoned all our clothes on the counter. She looked at the heap of clothes with huge, wide eyes.

"Um…w-will that be all today?" she stuttered, still in shock of how many clothes we were buying.

"I believe so, yes," O'Shay answered, taking out his wallet from his back pocket.

I watched as the desk lady—whose name was Yolande, as said so on her nametag—checked in every single tag off of the clothing and totaled it up on her Hoverdesk, which is a type of computer. As the total amount pinged up on the screen, I about fainted from the amount. O'Shay didn't seem fazed by it at all, taking out his credit card and swiping it on the screen in front of him.

You want to know how much it was?

"How can you pay for $8,270 dollars worth of clothing, Doctor?!" I whisper-shouted at him.

"I'll tell you later, Toby," he said nonchalantly.

"W-would you like, um…bags for your clothes, Sir?" Yolande asked.

"Yes, please."

I about fainted again. _$8,270 dollars worth of clothing…and he still has more to buy! All the school supplies he's going to get me… And still, what if I _don't_ pass that entry exam? Then what? He'll have spent all that money for nothing, then!_

"Toby!"

I blinked, snapping myself out of my trance. "I-I'm sorry, what?"

"Could you help with the bags, please?" O'Shay asked, groaning with effort.

"Uh…"

"I can call a host to help you with your bags, Sir?" Yolande said from the desk.

O'Shay dropped the bags to the floor unceremoniously with a large sigh. "Yes, that would be great."

After the call went through, it took a total of seven seconds flat for the host to arrive—which was just a robot…with eight arms.

"Hello!" the robot chirped. I glanced over the metal machine, wincing at its girly pink décor. It was a shade of all hues of pink, had a really bright white bow with a red dot in the middle of its forehead—and did I mention it had _eight arms?!_ "Don't worry, Sirs! I'll take care of your bags, no worries!"

As the robot began picking up all the bags with its arms, O'Shay leaned over to me. "That's a model GJ-327 robot. They were discontinued at the Ministry after a mishap with their programming. I wonder why the mall has one if they have all the government's funding?"

The last sentence was more to himself than to me. I blinked at the robot as all of the bags were in the air and through its arms. The robot turned to me, and upon finally seeing me, it gasped. "Oh, my! What a lovely design!"

"E-excuse me?!" I asked, completely confused.

O'Shay stood by me protectively, holding my shoulders and pulling me back. "GJ-327, do not talk to the boy!"

A series of fluttering beeps were heard, and its eyes fixated only on O'Shay, completely forgetting that I was there. "Yes, Sir."

"Take the bags to my car please, license plate DL-36J8."

"Yes, Sir!"

And with that, it rolled out of the shop and eventually out of the mall. I turned to O'Shay. "Doctor?"

"Yes, my boy?"

I swallowed nervously, not even knowing why—it just sort of happened. "Wh-what did that robot mean I had an 'interesting design'?"

O'Shay looked sullen for a moment before perking up with a smile and patting my back. "Oh, she meant your DNA, my boy! Those GJ models have the most advanced scanners of this age!"

I frowned at O'Shay, noticing that the look he had was somewhat close to the same look before we left the apartment. He was hiding something again.

"Well! Let's get some school supplies, shall we?" he said, walking off and changing the subject.

I watched him with a wary expression. If he was hiding something from me, it _had_ to be _extremely_ important enough that even if the slightest bit of information were told to me, it would be devastating or even worse—maybe cause me to go insane.

After a moment of hesitation, I hurried after him. The thoughts were beginning to cloud my mind, but I didn't want my random thoughts to ruin my time here in Metro City—even though they probably would. I tried to push the thoughts away to ask about them later, but they always kept pushing back. It was also a good thing that Dr. O'Shay didn't notice my clouded look, because he would've asked, and I would've blurted out my thoughts—made myself look foolish, because then he would've thought of another excuse. Then I realized that I had almost forgotten: he was a very clever man. If he were that clever, then he must be of high authority here in Metro City, and also why he would have that much money to be able to spend—and some.

"Here we are, the grocery store part of the mall!" O'Shay said, turning to me. "Could you grab a cart over there?" he asked, pointing to my right. I followed his direction to the huddle of carts, floating in the tight space, and hurried over to grab the smallest one I could find—which was still big. I didn't want that many school supplies, and I certainly didn't want him to waste all his hard-earned money on me.

Once I returned with the cart, we went directly to the school and work supplies section, passing by many interesting people and robots—who stared at me as we walked past. I admit it was pretty suspicious and confusing, that the robots kept staring at me. This made my earlier thoughts from before rise into my mind again. _If that GJ model said I had an interesting design…and O'Shay said she was just talking about my DNA…_

_Why didn't she do the same to any other human being?_

* * *

**A/N:** Whoa, nelly! GJ has some problems, bro XD Just kidding, but really, you'd think that by now Toby would know he's a robot? NOOOOPE! It's because he really believes he's human. And CAN YOU BELIEVE O'SHAY JUST SPENT _**$8,270 DOLLARS?!**_ *dies* I wish my dad did that for me... XD No I be joking, that would be a waste of money, I probably wouldn't wear most of the clothes-AHEM ANYWAY

Review?~


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